Absorbent personal care articles such as feminine hygiene products, adult incontinence products and baby and child care products often incorporate at least two layers, and more commonly, at least three layers in their structures. For example, sanitary napkins and pads, panty liners, incontinence pads, diapers and bed mats commonly include at least a user-facing topsheet layer (cover layer) for contacting a user's skin, a backsheet layer or baffle, for contacting a user's garments or bedding and for preventing leakage, and an absorbent core layer sandwiched between the topsheet layer and backsheet layer for absorbing and retaining body waste, such as urine, feces and menses. Additional interiorly-situated layers may also be included in the personal care article structure, such as for example, a surge layer, transfer delay layer, or distribution layer positioned between the topsheet layer and absorbent core layer. Alternatively, multiple interiorly-situated layers, such as the aforementioned layers and/or multiple core layers may also be utilized in an article structure.
It is known that such topsheet layer may be of a single layer construction, or of a multiple layer construction (such as a laminate of two or more nonwoven layers) and is commonly embossed either as an individual layer, or in combination with more interiorly-situated article layers. Such embossments (or embossed features) are often employed either to direct or restrict the flow of body exudates along specific paths on the topsheet layer surface, or to affect the flow of such exudate waste into the article core layer(s). An embossing pattern therefore, not only creates in some instances an aesthetically pleasing surface, but the channels may also facilitate intake/movement of menses fluid. Menses will tend to flow along the densified edges of the embossed channels rather than pool on contact points of the topsheet layer. Such embossments are typically formed by compression of the topsheet layer using a pattern/pin and anvil roll set. Heat may also be applied to the pattern roll to fuse the embossed layer materials together. Such embossments are usually in the form of extended channels or discrete points. Examples of such embossments may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,634 to J. J. Such et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,764 to Alikhan, U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,458 to Schulz, U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,555 to Lynard et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,067,711 to Kuroda et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,323,072 to Engelhart et al., and in United States Publications 2003/0187418 to Kudo et al., 2008/0294135 to Hara et al., 2010/0178456 to Kuroda et al., and 2010/0280471 to Shah. It is known that such embossments may slow the flow of waste off of an article's surface along an article's transverse direction/axis by providing enhanced surface area, and a barrier-type structure, as well as specific liquid wicking paths. For example, embossment channels that direct waste to a product's longitudinal ends for absorption into peripheral end regions of a core layer and away from the initial centralized location of article soiling (article central insult region), are often described in the patent literature. Nevertheless, there exists a continued need for a topsheet layer material which allows for targeted waste absorbency/fluid capture and barrier protection. There exists a continued need for a topsheet layer material which assists with the capture of body waste before it flows off of an absorbent article, by providing increased surface area with non-straight embossments. There also exists a need for a topsheet layer material which provides signals to a product user of targeted absorbency/fluid capture features through visually apparent topographical features.
Topsheet layer materials are also often apertured, either via initial layer formation, or through a mechanical, post layer-formation process, so as to create direct channels for body waste to travel from the point of article soiling (insult region) to an interiorly positioned absorbent layer. For example, if such a topsheet layer is a film, such film may be apertured following immediate film extrusion via a vacuum and screen process to create a series of holes or apertures through which waste may eventually flow. Alternatively, film or nonwoven topsheet layers may be apertured or perforated via a mechanical pin, rolling device such as a pin roller set, so as to create relatively larger apertures in a topsheet layer. Examples of these apertures are described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,764 to Alikhan which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Even with the wide array of known aperturing methods, there exists a continued need for topsheet layer material aperturing configurations, which may promote targeted/localized and regional absorbency/fluid capture to interiorly situated absorbent layers within personal care articles, and/or which provide a visual signal to a user as to the localized absorbency/fluid capture regions of the article. A further need exists for a liquid-receiving arrangement which provides improved aesthetic appearances to a topsheet layer user-facing surface.
It is known to utilize combination bonding and aperturing patterns with apertures being placed entirely within bonding patterns as for example, those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,764 to Alikhan. It is also known to surround a matrix-style series of apertures with a continuous embossed channel, as can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 7,067,711 to Kuroda. Finally, it is also known to have curvilinear/wavy embossed features (both in the form of points/dots and channels) on topsheets. See for example, United States publication 2004176734 to Rasmussen et al. and international publication WO 2007/116346 to Di Virgilio et al. However, such embossments do not provide a coordinated visual cue with apertures, to provide a user with multiple visually distinct and targeted/localized, fluid receiving/absorbency features for a topsheet layer. There is therefore a need for aperture and embossment combinations which offer enhanced visual cues of localized absorbency/fluid capture features to a product user. Such features would enhance user confidence in such products.